The Ljutic Space Gun

Al Ljutic (LEW-tic) was quite the interesting character, from his early days as a professional boxer to his selection for the US 1940 Olympic rifle team, to his eventual primary business making excellent high-end trap shotguns. One of the first was a gun he built for himself which wound up becoming the Space Gun. A very unorthodox looking gun, it offered remarkable recoil reduction for a single shot 12ga, as well as a very natural fit and sight picture. Only about 200 were ever made, though, as Ljutic focused instead on his Mono-Gun, which was a much more tradition looking (but no less excellent) design, and which became very popular.

This is Space Gun #107, and we can take a look at the locking and firing system which makes it so comfortable to shoot. Basically, it is a single shot bolt action with a very heavy striker, the forward impact of which counteracts some of the rearward recoil of firing. This is sometimes describes (incorrectly) as being a slam-fire gun...